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The suspension hype - IT'S REAL!


AlbatrossCafe

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AlbatrossCafe

I'm about ~230lbs. I've been riding on stock suspension for just over 20k miles.

 

I had a shop throw in adjustable (preload, rebound, compression) Andriani front forks and then replace the the rear spring (but keep OEM shock) with one of a much stiffer spring rate.

 

I have only ridden it about 60 miles so far and all of that has been in <37 degrees snow/rain, but I thought I would give my review. I was afraid I would notice a difference, but it is SIGNIFICANT

 

Things that improved:

  • Braking - bike stays relatively level when braking now. Before it would dive HARD and I would have little traction at the rear tire.
  • While stopped, I could bounce up and down on the back like a trampoline. Same with the front - if I would hold front brake and push down on the forks, it would bounce a few times before going still. Now it is a single "down and up once" movement.
  • Bike feels more planted on turns when hitting road imperfections
  • Bike feels MUCH more stable at 70mph+. Doesn't try to "wander" as much
  • The rear has stopped bottoming out on the shock with a hard clunk

 

Things that didn't improve:

  • I thought it would be a little less bone jarring when going over small bumps/potholes, but it feels about the same
  • My checking account

 

 

I paid about $900 for parts and about $360 for install costs. For someone who is similar to my body weight, I can say it was well worth it. I can't wait to give two-up another try when it gets warmer which was "tolerable" at best with the OEM stuff.

 

Front fork adjustment:

hoUc30o.jpg

 

New (black) rear spring:

fWpSV6Q.jpg

 

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If you thinnk it is improved now, wait until you dump the aweful (non) shock...

It is underdamped with the stock soft spring. It will now be even more underdamped.

 

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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And the rear shock has 20,000 miles on it.  The oil in that shock is shot.  Even a good shock after 20,000 miles would benefit from a rebuild.

Craig Mapstone
Upstate New York

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Oh yeah and the stock shock ( at least the one that was  on my bike) IS rebuildable! It IS a gas pressureized shock though, so not a simple empty and refill . I know one proper suspension person on this forum said it probably was cheaper to get an aftermarket shock than rebiuild the original. Don't know if this is still the case, but assume it is.

 

rear shock (1).JPG

rear shock (3).JPG

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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13 minutes ago, gregjet said:

Oh yeah and the stock shock ( at least the one that was  on my bike) IS rebuildable! It IS a gas pressureized shock though, so not a simple empty and refill . I know one proper suspension person on this forum said it probably was cheaper to get an aftermarket shock than rebiuild the original. Don't know if this is still the case, but assume it is.

 

rear shock (1).JPG

rear shock (3).JPG

Very nice. I've been meaning to dig in to mine, but I've been lazy since I fitted the CR setup to mine. Did you see anyway to recharge the nitrogen? Any port or valve?

 

 

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AlbatrossCafe

I will probably get a new rear shock sooner rather than later after seeing what a difference the front total replacement made. I just couldn't stomach $2.6k in suspension costs (including install, I don't have equipment to do forks or a spring compressor) all at once. I have 2 other vehicle projects I dump way too much money into 😆

 

I can definitely feel a slight oscillation around the center point of the rear shock when on smooth highway haha so the underdamping is noticeable...

 

The $100 upgraded rear spring is just supposed to tide me over until next April or so. Then I'll replace the whole coilover or shock.

 

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" Any port or valve?"

No this is a serious suspension person job. I have done them in the past putting in a valve at the bottom, but mine has never been all that successful. I do have better equipment though, so I might give it a try one day.

BTW the stock shock is very heavy...

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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As a guy north of the 200# Mark I was always curious how much a suspension over haul could fix some of these issues. The nosedive at braking is terrible and I've about pulled an endo on a few emergency stops. 

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On 11/6/2017 at 12:35 AM, AlbatrossCafe said:

Things that didn't improve:

  • I thought it would be a little less bone jarring when going over small bumps/potholes, but it feels about the same
  • My checking account

I paid about $900 for parts and about $360 for install costs.

 

yowza that's $$$. First, run a 8-10cSt@40 oil in the left/comp leg and the jarring will improve at the front at least. I can't make out the spring label. Can you elaborate?

The K-Tech Razor Lite is 460 delivered and rebuild/respring of OE would run you at least $200 so it doesn't make sense to keep the OE unit around except as a boat anchor. 

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AlbatrossCafe
On 11/11/2017 at 1:52 PM, pattonme said:

yowza that's $$$. First, run a 8-10cSt@40 oil in the left/comp leg and the jarring will improve at the front at least. I can't make out the spring label. Can you elaborate?

The K-Tech Razor Lite is 460 delivered and rebuild/respring of OE would run you at least $200 so it doesn't make sense to keep the OE unit around except as a boat anchor. 

Sorry, I can't give you too many details. The installer took care of most of that (it was our forum vendor 2wheeldynoworks, actually). I know the spring is an Eibach spring but that is about it.

 

All I can say is DOH' for the rear. Probably should have just paid a little more up front. Oh well. It's still miles ahead of stock so I won't complain too much. I'll definitely swap rear out in spring when I can ride with a little more liveliness.

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Eibach springs usually have the spring rate printed on them. Can't remember in what units though.

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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